When you’re cleaning your shower, it’s important not to forget parts like the shower head as well as the tub. Still, it can seem intimidating if you have to disassemble your shower every time you want to give it a good deep clean. Luckily, we’re here to show you how to clean your shower head without removing it.
With this tutorial, you’ll be able to clean your shower in no time. Not to mention, it’ll help you see impressive results without requiring a lot of your time or energy to accomplish.
Why Is There White Built-In in Shower Head?
Seeing white build-up on your shower head can be startling if you aren’t sure what it is.
The good news is that this white build-up is natural with regular use and are simply mineral deposits on your shower head.
How to Clean a Shower Head Without Vinegar
If you’re willing to remove your shower head and vinegar just isn’t cutting it, you can always turn to a classic baking soda paste. It’s an effective choice that’s easy to make and easy to use.
To make a baking soda paste, you’ll just need to mix baking soda and water in equal parts. Done correctly, the mixture will have a paste-like texture that you can spread on your shower head.
Once you’ve used this mixture, you should reinstall the shower head and spray hot water through it to loosen any debris from the shower head. More plumbing related DIY tips like this at newsfront.com.
What You Need for This Tutorial:
- Twist ties or another method of securing the gallon-sized bags
- Gallon-sized sandwich or freezer bags
- White vinegar
- Alternatively to an option like white vinegar, you can rely on chemical cleaning products to cut through the grime and clean your shower head thoroughly. However, this provides a homemade and non-chemical solution.
- Hot water
- Sponge
- If you find yourself struggling with hard-to-reach places on your shower head, a toothbrush for cleaning can help here.
- Rags for cleaning
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Clean a Shower Head with Vinegar
Step 1: Precursory Cleaning
Before getting started on anything else, you’ll want to do a precursory cleaning on your shower head. You don’t need to remove the shower head at all or even work incredibly thoroughly. The point here is to try and remove as much grime as possible before moving forward. Still, you won’t want to leave any large mineral deposits that could be taken care of now left behind.
If you find anything that’s too difficult to remove or within the holes of the shower head, you can leave it for now. The solution you’re adding to it in the following steps will help clean these areas.
Step 2: Prepare Your Cleaning Solution
Now that you’ve done an initial cleaning of your shower head, you can prepare the solution to soak the showerhead in. For this, you’ll want to take your gallon-sized freezer bag and fill it with a solution that’s equal parts hot water and your white vinegar.
Remember, you’ll want to fill the bag enough that your shower head will be completely submerged once it’s in the bag. This way, it’ll be able to clean the whole thing.
Make sure to leave room for the shower-head in the bag, though, or you might find yourself with a bit of the vinegar mixture spilling on your hands.
Step 3: Securing the Mixture to the Shower Head
Since you’re leaving the shower head intact, you might be wondering how you’ll keep this mixture on. That’s where your twist tie will come in handy.
Start by pulling the bag with the mixture in it over the showerhead. As we said earlier, you’ll want to cover the shower head but, more specifically, you’ll want the holes on the head completely submerged. You can use the twist tie to make sure the bag is secured in place.
Step 4: Let It Sit
The next step is to let your shower-head sit in the mixture before moving forward. When it comes to how long you should let it sit, that depends on the material that your specific shower head is made out of.
For example, if you have a shower head that’s made of nickel, gold, or brass, the solution should only sit for 30 minutes. If you have any other material in your shower head, you can let the mixture sit for as long as it needs to clean your shower head and break up any mineral deposits.
Step 5: Rinsing the Shower Head
Once you’ve let the mixture sit for as long as is appropriate regarding your shower head, you can remove the mixture. Still, you aren’t quite done yet. Before you do anything, you’ll want to take your rag and some hot water and wipe down the shower head.
After you’ve done that, turn on your shower and let hot water run through the shower head. This will help complete the deep clean you’ve been working on by flushing out the holes in the shower head.
To Summarize:
How to Remove a Shower Head to Clean
If you need to complete a more detailed or thorough cleaning of your shower head, you might find that you need to remove it. Luckily, this doesn’t add too much difficulty.
To start with this, you’ll need to disconnect your shower head. You can do this by taking a wrench and removing the nut at the shower arm. However, using a tool directly on your shower head is likely to leave a mark or two. You can use your cleaning rag as a cushion between your wrench and the shower hardware to protect it.
How Long Do You Soak a Shower Head in Vinegar?
As we discussed earlier, you need to soak the head in the vinegar solution for a time if it’s going to work.
On the other hand, how long should you soak your shower head to clean it thoroughly without damaging it?
Like we said before, you only really have to worry if you have a shower head made out of brass, nickel, or gold. These materials should only sit in the solution for a maximum of 30 minutes. Otherwise, you’re fine to leave the vinegar solution for as long as necessary.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy our tutorial? If you follow these steps, you’ll have a shower that looks like new in no time. This way, you’ll have a shower free of mineral deposits without having to remove your shower head at all.
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